Islamabad - At least seven people, including four policemen,
were killed in twin attacks in north-western Pakistan on Sunday,
officials said.
In the first incident, gunmen opened fire at a police checkpoint in
the city of Dera Ismail Khan and killed two officers.
A suicide bomber then blew themselves up outside a hospital gate as
the ambulance carrying the two officers arrived.
City police spokesman Arshad Ali said at least five people were
killed in the second attack, including two policemen. Another 17
people were wounded.
Ali said it was not yet clear whether the suicide bomber was male or
female, although there were early indications that a woman carried
out the blast.
A bomb disposal squad and other investigative agencies were
collecting evidence while a search and clearance operation in the
area was under way, he said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility.
The Pakistani military has pushed Islamist militants back from their
mountainous hideouts in north-western Pakistan near the Afghan border
in a series of offensives launched from mid-2014.
However, the their capability to launch attacks on soft targets or
the civilian population remains intact, posing a security challenge.
Last month, the army said that terrorist activity had jumped in the
tribal region bordering Afghanistan and at least 10 members of the
security forces had been killed and 35 injured over the past months.